Microsoft Acknowledges New Netlogon Issues On Windows Server Machines

Microsoft has acknowledged a new Windows Server bug that prevents select apps or network drives from establishing secure Netlogon channel connections. The company confirmed on the Windows health dashboard that this problem is caused by the January Patch Tuesday updates. And it impacts all supported versions of Windows Server (via Bleeping Computer).

What Is NetLogon?

For those unfamiliar, Netlogon is a Windows Server process. It is responsible for creating a secure channel between domain controllers and PCs. It primarily runs in the background to authenticate users, login requests, and other services within a domain.

Microsoft says that applications and services affected by the Netlogon issue may be unable to join domains or encounter problems after doing so.

“After installing KB5009555 or any updates released January 11, 2022 and later on your domain controllers, scenarios which rely on Read-only domain controllers (RODCs) or synthetic RODC machine accounts might fail to establish a Netlogon secure channel.

RODC accounts must have a linked and compliant KRBTGT account to successfully establish a secure channel. Affected applications or network appliances, such as Riverbed SteelHead WAN Optimizers, might have issues joining domains or limitations after joining a domain,” the company explained.

According to Microsoft, the Netlogon bug affects the following Windows Server configurations:

• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Windows Server 2008 SP2

Microsoft noted that it is actively investigating the issue, but it didn’t provide a date for when this will be fixed. However, it seems likely that the fix should be available as a part of the March Patch Tuesday update that will arrive in about two weeks.

Have you noticed the Netlogon bug on your Windows Server machines? Sound off in the comments section below.